Integrated semiconductor circuit devices, oftentimes referred to as chips, contain a variety of miniaturized electrical circuitry and are widely used on printed wiring circuit boards manufactured by the Electronics and Communications Industry to form larger composite electrical circuits. A typical chip is a relatively small and fragile device commonly mounted on a ceramic substrate called a chip carrier. Electrical conducting leads generally extend outwardly from electrical circuitry of the chip and are coupled to a plurality of metallic conducting pads positioned on the chip carrier immediately adjacent each edge thereof. The chip or the combination of the chip and the chip carrier may be hermetically sealed to form an integrated circuit chip carrier module wherein electrical connections extend from the conducting pads adjacent the edges of the module, and hereinafter referred to as terminals, to the electrical circuitry of the chip.
Connector apparatus has been developed for use in mounting integrated circuit chip carrier modules on printed wiring circuit boards and interconnecting each of the module terminals with a portion of the board circuitry. Typically, the connector apparatus utilizes spring formed electrical conducting members designed to press against the terminals of a module and maintain a satisfactory electrical connection therewith. Since the manufacturing tolerances of the terminal dimensions vary as does the thickness of the chip carrier module the connector apparatus spring conducting members must exert sufficient force against the module terminals so as not to adversely affect operation of the chip circuitry.
Various techniques have been used in the design of the connector apparatus to provide the necessary spring force. In one prior art connector, pockets projecting outward from sidewalls of the connector housing are needed to hold electrical conducting members designed to provide the required spring force. Another connector requires enlarged sidewalls having cavities located therein that hold the electrical conducting members and which are formed to allow the spring portion of a conducting member to expand outward when a hinged cover locks a module into engagement with the conducting members. Still other connector apparatus utilizes horizontally extended or high vertical sidewalls around or between and over which electrical conducting members must be formed with protective insulation to obtain the proper spring force.
Manufacturing techniques presently in common use require that chip carrier modules and their associated connector apparatus be mounted in high density arrays on a circuit board having printed wiring paths. A problem arises in the aforementioned chip carrier module connector apparatus in that the electrical conducting members spring mounting arrangements require that the connector apparatus be of such size as to limit the number of chip carrier modules that may be positioned and mounted on a circuit board. In addition, the growth in the number of electrical circuits that may be accommodated on a chip requires additional module terminals and a corresponding increase in the size of the connector apparatus. Furthermore, the inconvenience of operating hinged or screw fastened locking devices of prior art connector apparatus makes it difficult to install and remove the chip carrier modules on and from circuit boards.
Accordingly, a need exists for connector apparatus arranged to mount high density arrays of integrated multi-terminal chip carrier modules on a circuit board. A need also exists for connector apparatus arranged to mount electrical conducting members used for interconnecting a chip carrier module with the circuitry of a circuit board in such configurations as to minimize the amount of space required to mount the module on the circuit board.